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Notice2023-17742

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for METRO Blue Line Extension Light Rail Transit Project

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Published
August 18, 2023

Issuing agencies

Transportation DepartmentFederal Transit Administration

Abstract

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as lead Federal agency, and Metropolitan Council (Council), as local project sponsor and joint lead agency, issue this notice to advise the public that they intend to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the METRO Blue Line Extension light rail transit (LRT) project (Project) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Project would extend the Blue Line LRT approximately 13.5 miles from Target Field in downtown Minneapolis to the northwest, serving north Minneapolis and the suburbs of Robbinsdale, Crystal, and culminating in Brooklyn Park.

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 159 (Friday, August 18, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 159 (Friday, August 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56699-56701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17742]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
METRO Blue Line Extension Light Rail Transit Project

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as lead Federal

[[Page 56700]]

agency, and Metropolitan Council (Council), as local project sponsor 
and joint lead agency, issue this notice to advise the public that they 
intend to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) 
for the METRO Blue Line Extension light rail transit (LRT) project 
(Project) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 
Project would extend the Blue Line LRT approximately 13.5 miles from 
Target Field in downtown Minneapolis to the northwest, serving north 
Minneapolis and the suburbs of Robbinsdale, Crystal, and culminating in 
Brooklyn Park.

DATES: Comments related to the NEPA review of this project must be 
received on or before September 18, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the scope of the SEIS should be directed to Ms. 
Neha Damle, Environmental Lead, Blue Line Extension Project Office, 
6465 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 600, St. Louis Park, MN 55426; or via 
telephone at 612-373-3888 or email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a9e7ccc1c887edc8c4c5cce9c4ccdddbc6dddbc8c7dac0dd87c6dbce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3e705b565f107a5f53525b7e535b4a4c514a4c5f504d574a10514c59">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on FTA's NEPA 
review, please contact Ms. Anshu Singh, Federal Transit Administration, 
Region V, 200 West Adams Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60606, at (312) 
353-4344 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fb9a9588938ed58892959c93cabb9f948fd59c948d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d3b2bda0bba6fda0babdb4bbe293b7bca7fdb4bca5">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. Information about the SEIS will be 
available at the public meeting(s) and on the Project website, 
Environmental Information page at <a href="https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Light-Rail-Projects/METRO-Blue-Line-Extension/Environmental.aspx">https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Light-Rail-Projects/METRO-Blue-Line-Extension/Environmental.aspx</a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FTA issued the original notice of intent to 
prepare an EIS for the Project on January 10, 2012, and issued the 
Record of Decision (ROD) in 2016. The purpose of this NOI is to alert 
interested parties regarding the intent to prepare a SEIS; to provide 
information on the nature of the proposed changes to the Project; to 
invite public participation in the SEIS process, including comments on 
the scope of the SEIS proposed in this NOI; and to announce that public 
and agency meetings on the proposed modifications to the Project will 
be conducted. FTA determined this Project is exempt from the major 
project requirements in FTA's environmental statute because it is a 
supplemental review to an earlier NEPA review that pre-dates the major 
project requirements.
    FTA and the Council (the Agencies) will prepare a SEIS in 
accordance with NEPA and its implementing regulations. The SEIS will 
evaluate two alternatives, a Build Alternative and a No Build 
Alternative. After circulation of the Draft SEIS and consideration of 
comments received, FTA intends to issue a combined Final SEIS/Amended 
ROD document pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 139(n)(2), unless the Final SEIS 
makes substantial changes to the proposed action that are relevant to 
environmental or safety concerns or there is a significant new 
circumstance or information relevant to environmental concerns that 
affect the proposed action or its impacts, which would preclude 
issuance of a combined document.
    In 2016, FTA published a Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(Final EIS) and ROD for the Project based on the preferred Project 
alignment at that time. The Project, located in Hennepin County, 
Minnesota, would have extended approximately 13.5 miles from downtown 
Minneapolis to the northwest serving north Minneapolis and the suburbs 
of Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park. Since the 
2016 publication of the Final EIS and ROD, the Agencies worked with 
BNSF Railway to negotiate use of their freight rail right-of-way. 
However, the group has not been able to reach an agreement. Therefore, 
the originally preferred Project alignment needs to be modified.

I. Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    The Purpose and Need statements remain the same as the Final EIS 
and ROD. The purpose of the Project is to provide transit service, 
which will satisfy the long-term regional mobility and accessibility 
needs for businesses and the traveling public. The Project is needed to 
effectively address long-term regional transit mobility and local 
accessibility needs while providing efficient, travel-time competitive 
transit service that supports economic development goals and objectives 
of local, regional, and statewide plans. For more information on the 
purpose and need, including project goals, please visit <a href="https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Light-Rail-Projects/METRO-Blue-Line-Extension.aspx">https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Light-Rail-Projects/METRO-Blue-Line-Extension.aspx</a>.

II. Description of Proposed Action and Alternatives

    Based on technical considerations and community input, a modified 
route was recommended by the Council and Hennepin County on June 22, 
2022. The SEIS will study the following route: West Broadway Avenue in 
Brooklyn Park to Bottineau Boulevard (County Road 81 or CR 81), CR 81 
in Crystal & Robbinsdale to West Broadway Avenue in North Minneapolis, 
and multiple potential routes (West Broadway Avenue or 21st Street 
Avenue; Lyndale or a route east of I-94) to Target Field Station. The 
Project would no longer be located in the City of Golden Valley with 
the proposed modifications to the route alignment.
    A No-Build option will be analyzed in the SEIS, as required by the 
NEPA regulation (40 CFR 1502.14(c)). The SEIS will evaluate 
environmental impacts within the locations where the modified alignment 
is proposed. The SEIS will be prepared in accordance with the 
requirements of NEPA, and its implementing regulations at 40 CFR parts 
1500-1508, and in accordance with 23 CFR 771.130. The Council will also 
prepare the SEIS in accordance with the requirements of the Minnesota 
Environmental Policy Act (Minnesota Rules Chapter 4410.3000, Subp. 3).
    The SEIS will evaluate the following changes since the 2016 Final 
EIS and ROD:

West Broadway Avenue/Brooklyn Park

    The proposed LRT elements (stations, a park and ride, an operations 
and maintenance facility (OMF), and track) remain the same as in the 
2016 Final EIS and ROD. However, the reconstruction and expansion of 
West Broadway (from north of Brooklyn Boulevard to 93rd Avenue), which 
was previously identified as a separate project, is being included in 
the SEIS.

Bottineau Boulevard (County Road 81)/Southern Brooklyn Park and Crystal

    In Southern Brooklyn Park and Crystal, the SEIS will evaluate a 
proposed modified LRT alignment on Bottineau Boulevard. The SEIS will 
evaluate proposed stations at 63rd Avenue and Bass Lake Road. The SEIS 
will also evaluate changes to Bottineau Boulevard needed to accommodate 
the proposed modified LRT alignment, including a conventional at-grade 
intersection with a pedestrian bridge to access the station and a 
grade-separate elevated structure carrying Bottineau Boulevard over 
Bass Lake Road.

Bottineau Boulevard (County Road 81)/Robbinsdale

    In Robbinsdale, the SEIS will evaluate the proposed modified LRT 
alignment on Bottineau Boulevard. In addition, the SEIS will evaluate a 
proposed station in downtown Robbinsdale in the median of Bottineau 
Boulevard with a park-and-ride facility and a proposed station at Lowry 
Avenue near North Memorial Hospital. The proposed station at Lowry 
Avenue near North Memorial Hospital would be elevated over Oakdale

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Avenue, Theodore Wirth Parkway, and the southbound lanes of Bottineau 
Boulevard.

West Broadway Avenue or 21st Avenue/Minneapolis

    In Minneapolis, the SEIS will evaluate a proposed modified LRT 
alignment on West Broadway Avenue between Lowry Avenue and North Irving 
Avenue. East of North Irving Avenue, the Project will evaluate two 
proposed alignment options: an LRT option on West Broadway and an LRT 
option on 21st Avenue.

Lyndale Avenue or I-94/Minneapolis

    Further, two proposed modified alignment options to Target Field 
Station will be evaluated in the SEIS. Both of the proposed route 
options would connect to either 21st Avenue or West Broadway (see 
above) and travel over I-94 on a bridge. After crossing the bridge, the 
first proposed alignment would run on Lyndale Avenue to North 7th 
Street. The other proposed alignment option would run along the east 
side of I-94, parallel to Washington Avenue, and use 10th Avenue N to 
North 7th Street.

III. Summary of Expected Impacts

    The SEIS will focus on potentially significant impacts associated 
with the Project's proposed modified alignment. The full range of 
environmental, social, and economic impacts will be considered, but 
those that are significant will be evaluated in depth in the SEIS. The 
proposed modified alignment has potentially significant new impacts to 
residents and businesses, as well as other social and community 
impacts.
    The SEIS will assist the Council, FTA, resource agencies, key 
project partners, and the general public in understanding and resolving 
project elements within the context of NEPA. The purpose of the SEIS 
process is to explore, in a public setting, potentially significant 
effects of implementing proposed changes to the proposed Project on the 
physical, human, and natural environment. Specifically, it is 
anticipated that the type and scale of impacts associated with this 
change may include the need to acquire additional rights-of-way 
(residences and businesses) and potential new impacts on parks, 
historic properties, and communities and neighborhoods, in addition to 
new impacts on traffic and roadway operations based on the proposed 
modified alignment's use of surface streets and county roads.
    Areas of investigation include, but are not limited to, land use; 
historic and archaeological resources; visual and aesthetic qualities; 
traffic and parking; modification to existing bridges; noise and 
vibration; environmental justice; regulatory floodway/floodplain 
encroachments; coordination with transportation and economic 
development projects; and construction impacts. Other issues to be 
addressed in the SEIS include natural areas; ecosystems; threatened and 
endangered species; water resources; air/surface water and groundwater 
quality; energy; potentially contaminated sites; displacements and 
relocations; Section 4(f) requirements; Section 6(f) of the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund Act; and secondary and cumulative effects. 
Potential impacts will be evaluated for both the short-term 
construction period and the long-term effects of operations. Potential 
measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any significant adverse 
impacts will be identified.

IV. Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations

    In addition to issuing an Amended ROD (FTA) at the conclusion of 
the SEIS process, the following Federal permits and approvals are 
anticipated:

<bullet> Supplemental Section 4(f) Determination (FTA)
<bullet> Amended Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement (FTA)
<bullet> Amended 404 Wetland Permit (USACE)
<bullet> Section 7 Concurrence (US Fish and Wildlife Service)
<bullet> Letter of No Objection for Use Within Runway Protection Zone 
(FAA)
<bullet> Letter of Map Revision Approval (Federal Emergency Management 
Agency)
<bullet> National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit 
(Minnesota Pollution Control Agency [MPCA])
<bullet> Section 401 Water Quality Certification (MPCA)
<bullet> Various State and Local Approvals as needed

V. Schedule for the Decision-Making Process

    The Agencies intend to complete the SEIS for the Project within two 
years, measured from the date of the publication of this notice to the 
date an Amended ROD is signed. The Agencies will accept public comments 
on the scope of the SEIS (i.e., the information presented in this 
notice and at <a href="https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Light-Rail-Projects/METRO-Blue-Line-Extension/Environmental.aspx">https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Light-Rail-Projects/METRO-Blue-Line-Extension/Environmental.aspx</a> through 
September 18, 2023. The Agencies will then consider those comments as 
they prepare the Draft SEIS. The Agencies will announce the 
availability of the Draft SEIS in the Federal Register and via local 
media outlets. The Council expects the Draft SEIS will be available for 
a minimum 45-day public comment period by Spring 2024. The Draft SEIS 
will be distributed and available for public and agency review and 
comment prior to a public hearing. The Agencies will consider 
substantive comments timely submitted during the public comment period 
and then anticipate preparing a combined Final SEIS/Amended ROD by 
early 2025. The Final SEIS will identify the NEPA preferred alternative 
and any necessary mitigation commitments. The Agencies expect that all 
Federal environmental authorization decisions for the construction of 
the Project will be completed within a reasonable period following 
issuance of the Amended ROD.
    Notices of public meetings, including hearings, have been, and will 
continue to be, given through a variety of media providing the time and 
place of the meeting along with other relevant information. Information 
regarding the proposed modifications to the Project will be provided at 
upcoming public meetings. Meeting date, time, and location information 
can be found on the Project website, Meetings and Events page, at: 
<a href="https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Light-Rail-Projects/METRO-Blue-Line-Extension/Meetings-and-Materials.aspx">https://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Light-Rail-Projects/METRO-Blue-Line-Extension/Meetings-and-Materials.aspx</a>. Public meeting 
locations will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Persons 
needing special accommodations should contact Ms. Neha Damle, 
Environmental Lead, using the contact information provided under the 
Addresses section above, at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

VI. Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, 
and Analysis

    The Agencies invite all State, Tribal, local governments, and the 
public to comment on potential alternatives, information, and analyses 
to be considered in the SEIS.

Kelley Brookins,
Regional Administrator, FTA Region V.
[FR Doc. 2023-17742 Filed 8-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P


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